Film review: Kick-Ass 2 (15)
Streetwise heroes veer towards pedestrian
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.The energetic and breezily disreputable 2010 comic-book adaptation Kick-Ass, about the bathetic crime-fighting efforts of a nerdy teenager (Aaron Taylor- Johnson) in a homemade superhero costume, offered a refreshing antidote to the self-seriousness of most other Hollywood superhero films.
So too, this sequel, but with somewhat diminished returns. Chloë Grace Moretz's foul-mouthed pint-sized avenger Hit-Girl was the best thing about the first film, so her part is expanded, and we get to see how a girl who "can kill a man with his own finger" might get along with the jocks and Mean Girl types at her high school.
The bad guys are all cartoonish so as not to complicate the film's attitude towards vigilantism. Without the British director Matthew Vaughn at the helm, however, the sequel is both less polished and at the same time more like a standard Hollywood product.
Instead of delivering all the ultra-violence and laughs it should, Kick-Ass 2 insists that its characters face up to the real-world consequences of their play-fighting; that they question their identities and learn important life lessons. In short, it keeps on spoiling the fun.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments